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Racial or Other Biased Based Policing Prohibited

1.2.5 PROHIBITION OF RACIAL OR OTHER BIASED BASED POLICING

PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is
to prohibit the practice of racial and other
biased-based policing by members of the Sedgwick
County Sheriff’s Office. This policy applies to
all employees and volunteers of this agency.

Individuals are free to walk
and drive our streets, highways, and other
public places without law enforcement
interference so long as they obey the law. They
also are entitled to enjoy personal safety and
an expectation the government will engage in the
prevention of crime and the apprehension of
those persons who violate the law. This includes
an expectation to drive and walk our public ways
without subjection to risks posed by law
breakers including drivers violating traffic
laws.

The government, including law
enforcement, is charged with protecting these
rights for all persons, regardless of race,
ethnicity, national origin, gender, or religion.

Members of the Sedgwick
County Sheriff’s Office are required to be
observant of unusual occurrences and suspected
or actual law violations, and to act upon those
observations. It is this proactive enforcement
that keeps people free from crime, our streets
and highways safe to drive upon, and leads to
the detection and apprehension of criminals.

This policy is intended to
assist the officers of the Sedgwick County
Sheriff’s Office to safely accomplish their law
enforcement mission in compliance with legal and
constitutional requirements and in a manner
respecting the dignity of all persons and to
enhance positive relationships with the public.
It is intended to support a strong deterrent
message to actual and potential offenders that
they are likely to be detected, identified, and
prosecuted if they violate the law. This policy
is also intended to protect our members from
unwarranted accusations when they act within the
dictates of the law and policy.

It is the policy of the
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office to function in
a proactive manner, to aggressively investigate
suspicious persons and circumstances, and to
actively enforce the motor vehicle laws, while
only stopping or detaining persons when
reasonable suspicion exists to believe they have
committed, are committing, or are about to
commit a violation of the law and to do so
without interjecting personal biases into the
law enforcement decision process.

DEFINITIONS

Crime" means an act or
omission defined by law and classified as
felonies, misdemeanors, traffic infractions, or
cigarette or tobacco infractions as provided in
K.S.A 21-5102.

"Enforcement action" means
any law enforcement act during a nonconsensual
contact with an individual(s) in 1) determining
the existence of probable cause to take into
custody or to arrest an individual; 2)
constituting a reasonable and articulable
suspicion that an offense has been or is being
committed so as to justify the detention of an
individual or the investigatory stop of a
vehicle; or 3) determining the existence of
probable cause to conduct a search of an
individual or a conveyance.

"Probable Cause" means a
reasonable grounds to believe a person has
committed or is committing a crime or that a
place contains specific items connected with a
crime, supported by specific and articulable
facts, based on the officer's observations,
knowledge, training and experience, including
information from a reliable source.

"Racial or other biased-based
policing" means the unreasonable use of race,
ethnicity, national origin, gender or religion
by a law enforcement officer in deciding to
initiate an enforcement action. It is not racial
or other biased-based policing when race,
ethnicity, national origin, gender or religion
is used in combination with other identifying
factors as part of a specific individual
description to initiate an enforcement action.

"Reasonable suspicion" means
a particularized and objective basis, supported
by specific and articulable facts, to suspect a
person has committed, is committing or is about
to commit a crime. Reasonable suspicion may be
based on the officer's observations, knowledge,
and experience as well as reasonably trustworthy
information known to the officer at the time an
action is taken.

"Stop" is a seizure occurring
when a law enforcement officer, by force or some
show of authority, restrains a person's liberty.

G. Acts that constitute
racial or other biased-based policing include
but are not limited to:

Using race,
ethnicity, national origin,
gender, or religion as a general
indicator or predictor of
criminal activity.

Using the
race, ethnicity, national
origin, gender, or religion of a
person in the course of any law
enforcement action unless the
officer is seeking to detain,
apprehend, or otherwise be on
the lookout for a suspect sought
in connection with a crime who
has been identified or described
in part by race, ethnicity,
national origin, gender, or
religion.

Using the
race, ethnicity, national
origin, gender, or religion of a
person in the course of any
reasonable action in connection
with a status offense, such as,
runaways, child in need of care,
missing persons, and other
non-criminal care taker
functions unless the person is
identified or described in part
by race, ethnicity, national
origin, gender, or religion.

Using race,
ethnicity, national origin,
gender, or religion shall not be
motivating factors in making law
enforcement decisions and/or
actions, unless the person is
identified or described in part
by race, ethnicity, national
origin, gender, or religion.

Using race,
ethnicity, national origin,
gender, or religion as the basis
for discretionary law
enforcement i.e. who they will
cite, arrest, warn, search,
release or which person(s) to
treat with respect and dignity.

REGULATION

Members of the Sedgwick
County Sheriff’s Office are prohibited from
engaging in racial or other biased-based
policing as provided in this policy or
prohibited by law.

Members of the Sedgwick
County Sheriff’s Office shall report to their
supervisor any incidents of racial or other
biased-based policing they have direct knowledge
of.

Any member violating the
provisions of this policy or the state or
federal statutes pertaining to racial or other
biased-based policing or violating the
constitutional rights of any person as provided
in this policy is subject to corrective action
or discipline. Such discipline includes actions
appropriate in response to the nature of the
violation based on facts revealed in the
investigation of the complaint and consistent
with applicable laws, rules and regulations,
policy and procedure, or county policies and
resolutions, including but not limited to,
reprimand, suspension or termination of
employment. Discipline may also include
retraining, counseling, or any other action
deemed appropriate to deter repeated violations.

SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Supervisors are responsible
for oversight to ensure all officers use
reasonableness and properly apply the legal
standards for taking enforcement actions or
applying law enforcement discretion.

Supervisors shall take
appropriate action, including but not limited to
coaching and discipline, to assure compliance
with this policy and related state and federal
statutes.
D. Supervisors should be cognizant of any
pattern or practice of possible discriminatory
treatment by individual officers or groups of
officers. If such pattern or practice is
observed, the supervisor must take immediate
steps to further investigate; to intervene in
such activity; take corrective action; and
report the activity and action taken to
superiors.

TRAINING

All law enforcement officers
of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office shall
attend and successfully complete annual racial
or other biased-based policing training.

Distance
learning training technology is
allowed for racial or other
biased-based policing training.

The required
racial and other biased-based
policing training may include
directly or indirectly related
to training intended to address
racial and biased-based policing
issues.

Training exemptions
referenced in KSA 22-4610 subsection (d)(2)(F)
shall be in accordance with the authority
granted to the Executive Director of the Kansas
Commission on Peace Officers Standards and
Training per KSA 74-5607a, which in pertinent
part provides "The director may extend, waive or
modify the annual continuing education
requirement, when it is shown that the failure
to comply with the requirements was not due to
the intentional avoidance of the law."

COMPLAINTS OF RACIAL OR OTHER BIASED-BASED
POLICING

Any person who believes they
have been subjected to racial or other
biased-based policing may file a complaint with
the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and/or the
attorney general's office.

Any complaint of racial or
other biased-based policing can be made with any
supervisor of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s
Office or with the Professional Standards Unit.

No person who believes they
have been subjected to racial or other
biased-based policing shall be discouraged,
intimidated, or coerced from filing such a
complaint.

No person will be
discriminated against or subjected to
retribution because they have filed such a
complaint.

AGENCY REQUIREMENTS

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s
Office will conduct ongoing community outreach
and communications efforts:

Such outreach
and communications shall
include:

A statement of
the person's
right to file a
complaint with
the agency
and/or the
Office of the
Attorney
General.

An explanation
of how to file a
complaint with
the agency,

An explanation
of how to file a
complaint with
the Office of
the Attorney
General, and

A description of
the agency's
complaint
process.

This policy is a public
document and any person requesting to see it
during normal business hours will be provided an
opportunity to examine it.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s
Office shall file a report no later than July 31
of each year to the Attorney General as required
by statute. Such report shall be for the period
beginning July 1 of the previous year through
June 30 of the current year. Such report shall
be available for examination by any person
requesting to see it during normal business
hours.

CITIZENS COMMUNITY COUNCIL

In addition to the mission of
the Citizens Community Council stated in General
Order 54.2.10, they also advise and assist in
policy development, education and community
outreach and communications related to racial
and other biased-based policing.

The Citizens Community
Council shall be comprised of participants
reflecting the racial and ethnic makeup of
Sedgwick County.

The Citizens Community
Council shall be provided training on fair and
impartial policing and comprehensive plans for
law enforcement agencies.

Mission: To assure quality public services that provide for the present and future well-being of the citizens of Sedgwick County.